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[Patrick Bateman]

It's never made me buy a game, but box art does sometimes catch my eye and read about it. Then, if I like the idea, I'll buy it.

Dito.

And games from whom I expect much, could be sold on a home-burned DVD if I could still play them.

 

[Kangu]

Thankfully, no.

.

 

[Yama]

It doesn't exactly influence the purchase, at least not as far as judging quality and such. However it does get me to look at the game, if I'm shelf shopping for the hell of it.

 

[Barry Lightning]

i think cover art should be a part of the entire experience. much like music artists put the time into their album covers, or finer DVD publishers such as The Criterion Collection, etc make it about something special and a definitive product.

the cover art should be a reflection - or at the least a refraction - of what is to be experienced inside. i know in the u.s., developers are at the mercy of their Marketing departments when it comes to cover art, but i think it would be great if we could see the actual development teams take control of that aspect of the project, if only to make it a complete and condusive whole. i guess foundation 9 / death jr do this, but that may be conjecture?

people take details like cover art for granted. for example, when dreamcast in the u.s. changed its covers from white to black to appear more like PS1 games, it lost a ton of character in the process. a change of a detail had a major effect on how dreamcast was perceived on the shelves (IE, just like everything eles aka ps1).

or what about the choice of font for ps3? the spiderman font? a detail that says volumes about where sony's head is at the moment...(IE, up its own arse)

 

[Ranger X]

There's not much influencing my purshase outside articles + pics + movies i see on the net. The box art is like the thing that influences me the less.

 

[Yama]

There's not much influencing my purshase outside articles + pics + movies i see on the net. The box art is like the thing that influences me the less.

Because you educate yourself on the subject, but for the impulse buy it may have more of an effect, especally if shelf browsing.

 

[Scotch]

The cover art itself doesn't influence my purchases, however I don't buy Platinum/Classic/Player's Choice games because of the ugly covers.

 

[Cdammen]

No, never. But a good game cover gets my attention when browsing the shelves in my local game store, but that doesn't mean I'll buy it before I try it or get more information/feedback on it.

 

[Mithos Yggdrasill]

No. Absolutely not.

 

[Link316]

If a game had a collector's edition and the contents of the CE doesn't interest you BUT the cover art for the CE looks tons better than the normal edition, would you purchase the CE just because of the cover art?

don't start giving them ideas... -_-

 

[Acosta]

No, of course I would prever a great cover over a bad score (and maybe I could take the japanese version over the western one depending of the type of game), but that is not a important factor for me.

 

[P90]

For impulse bargain buys, yes, most certainly.

 

[Joe Molotov]

If a game has a crappy box art, would you pass it?

No.

If a game had a collector's edition and the contents of the CE doesn't interest you BUT the cover art for the CE looks tons better than the normal edition, would you purchase the CE just because of the cover art?

I hate to admit it, but yes.

 

[davepoobond]

its not usually something i judge a purchase on, but it does catch my eye if it looks cool, which means i'll pay attention to it for two seconds before i remember what kind of quality game it is.

 

[Ben Sones]

no, they are all crappy, except ICO

Clarification: the Japan cover for ICO. The American one was pretty average. The Japanese version (the DeChirico-inspired image) is one of the best pieces of box art that I've seen on a game.

 

[colinp]

i think cover art should be a part of the entire experience. much like music artists put the time into their album covers, or finer DVD publishers such as The Criterion Collection, etc make it about something special and a definitive product.

the cover art should be a reflection - or at the least a refraction - of what is to be experienced inside. i know in the u.s., developers are at the mercy of their Marketing departments when it comes to cover art, but i think it would be great if we could see the actual development teams take control of that aspect of the project, if only to make it a complete and condusive whole. i guess foundation 9 / death jr do this, but that may be conjecture?

people take details like cover art for granted. for example, when dreamcast in the u.s. changed its covers from white to black to appear more like PS1 games, it lost a ton of character in the process. a change of a detail had a major effect on how dreamcast was perceived on the shelves (IE, just like everything eles aka ps1).

or what about the choice of font for ps3? the spiderman font? a detail that says volumes about where sony's head is at the moment...(IE, up its own arse)

ooh, very well said. I agree completely.

 

[Vard]

If I'm going to buy a game, I'll buy it regardless what the cover art is (ex: ICO).

If an game has interesting/nice cover art, I can become interested in it (not to the point of an impulse buy, but I'd possibly look into it.)

 

[Ben Sones]

I really liked the cover art for the limited edition version of Dreamfall. (The regular edition box art was okay, but nothing special.)

 

[antiloop]

Never. The cover is so so far down the priority list it's not even considered if I want the game the slightest.

 

[Pristine_Condition]

Honestly, yes.

But maybe not the way you would think.

I haven't bought a game that I didn't know about on an impulse since the internet came around. That just doesn't happen since games are so expensive and I have to pay for them with my hard-earned money.

But...if there are two or three games that I know I want, vying for my dollars in the store, a cool cover might make me pick that one up first and wait on the others.

But if a game cover sucks, but I know the game is good, I'll still buy it. ICO being a great example.

 

[sphinx]

I had no idea what was the game about and wasn't even sure what the term "RPG" meant
still I saw this and thought " That's a sale from me "

 

[shattyboombatty]

Suikoden 1... ugh

 

[kenta]

I anticipated FFXII for years and years, I reserved the CE the very day it was announced, but as soon as I saw the box I reverted back to the standard edition. I can't stand having a non-uniform box in my shelf of games, they have to all look the same and have order!

Soon I'll buy the CE's bonus disc and transfer everything to an empty 2-disc game case

 

[rollingstart]

pretty much no, except when I bought Incredible Crisis for $10 based on the cover.

 

[mrkgoo]

I don't think I've ever bought a game on the cover alone, but the cover definitely has influence.

Generally, I do my research before buying a game -read reviews, impressions etc. Video games, espeically in NZ, is far too expensive a hobby to be burned on games that aren't good. So I normally know whther I'm going to buy a game, and the cover has little to do with a purchase - I will buy it regardless of the quality of the cover.

HOWEVER, if I knew I was going to buy a game, and there were multiple covers available, then I'd get the one with the nicer cover. And sometimes, a nice cover will make me pick up the box to read the back, so nicely designed boxes can make it more attractive and get a look in when it otherwsie wouldn't.

 

[FoxSpirit]

I'm sure some people who buy on a whim will be swayed. And here's the US Symphony of the Night cover (to add to the gruesome Suikoden 1 one):

 

[sprsk]

If I knew nothing about games, yes; but since I'm super informed, no.

 

[Brobzoid]

I'm holding out for the Eu version of Contact, because the cover is better. so there!

 

[Oneself]

Sure, I like great cover art but I don't really mind if it's ugly...

(see: ICO, Mobile Light Force 2 and MK: Shaolin Monks are part of my collection)

 

[shrapnelmagnet]

I wish it did... I saw this game in EB for $0.01. Based on the box art and ludicrous price, I bought it immediately.

This is the PAL version box but the NA has the same art. So epic. It's the gift that keeps on giving, really.

 

[blame space]

I wish we would've got the PAL boxart for RE4. It's SO much better than the U.S. one.

 

[Ristamar]

Not in the least.

 

[Dabookerman]

I always thought the US MGS 3 and Twin snakes boxart were terrible in comparison to the Pal Boxarts

 

[GhaleonEB]

Nope.

I owned a Saturn. If I avoided crappy covers my library would have been tiny, even by Saturn standards.

 

[DyTonic]

Hell yea if a game has a crappy boxart then my collection would look like shi*.

 

[Beezy]

Does it?

If a game has a crappy box art, would you pass it?

If a game had a collector's edition and the contents of the CE doesn't interest you BUT the cover art for the CE looks tons better than the normal edition, would you purchase the CE just because of the cover art?

No, but I did get the CE of FFXII for this reason. That's the only time that boxart has ever affected one of my game purchases.

 

[Prince]

When i had a NES and in the beginning when i had a SNES there weren't any magazines or tv programs about gaming (Netherlands) so i bought a game because i played it at a friend's house or because i liked the cover in the store.

Looking back i had a lot of crappy games.

 

[{Mike}]

No, but it does help me appreciate even more the game if it is good. I'm tired of generic covers, unispired covers, stupid covers, etc. Burnout, Call of Duty and many others, I'm talking to you.

 

[onegoodlogan]

Nope.

I owned a Saturn. If I avoided crappy covers my library would have been tiny, even by Saturn standards.

It hurts!

 

[Link316]

yes -_-;

 

[Haunted]

I really liked the cover art for the limited edition version of Dreamfall. (The regular edition box art was okay, but nothing special.)

That's ****ing awesome. I dig it.

Somebody post some 'Paccie' Phoenix Games boxart - ending this thread real quick.

 

[usea]

I almost bought this game just because of the awesome cover.

 

[Speevy]

No, because my game boxes aren't displayed for the world to see. They're thrown in a bucket.

 

[Sean]

Not really, my games are stored in a shelf, so all I see is the spines.

The things that bother me are the non-standard cases that some games use. Usually collectors editions, but another example is Viva Pinata. Hated the case but I bought the game anyway. I like to have consistency.

 

[Pureauthor]

I don't have the funding to make impulse buys on something as trivial as the cover.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Yeah the typeface on the Hotel Dusk boxart makes it look like 3rd party shovelware. Hopefully people will notice the Nintendo logo and give the back a read.

 

[NotWii]

No, but I know it influences the purchases of many people.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Like many have said, interesting cover art will make me pick a game to see what it's about, but I never buy based on cover art.

However, if I am to buy a game, and there are multiple covers available (CE, SE, or Greatest Hits, etc.), I will buy the nicest looking one, even to the extent of paying a little extra for it (eg. $5 more for a $50 game).

 

[speculawyer]

No. Never.

 

[karasu]

Nope, but character design does.